Exploring Typewritten Literary Manuscripts via Kerouac's "On the Road"

Research Project

Project/Area Number	18K00422
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 02030:English literature and literature in the English language-related
Research Institution	Kobe City University of Foreign Studies
Principal Investigator	Theado Matthew 神戸市外国語大学, 外国語学部, 教授 (70733369)
Project Period (FY)	2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2021)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000) Fiscal Year 2020: ¥3,120,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥720,000) Fiscal Year 2019: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000) Fiscal Year 2018: ¥390,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥90,000)
Keywords	Kerouac / American Literature / American Culture / Textual study / Typewriter / typewriter / typescript / American literature / 1950s / Jack Kerouac / Beat Generation / literature / composition / On the Road / Typescript
Outline of Final Research Achievements	The research focused on exhibiting the typescript for Jack Kerouac’s novel “On the Road” (1957). Kerouac used a typewriter to produce the typescript on a 36-meter-long roll of paper. Due to coronavirus, we were unable to bring the typescript from American to Japan. However, we obtained high-definition digital scans, and a Japanese printing company reproduced the typescript in detail. This replica was the centerpiece of a month-long exhibition at the BB Plaza Museum of Art, attended by more than 1,700 visitors. The exhibition featured 300 rare books by Beat Generation writers, provided by Kazuhiro Yamaji, owner of Flying Books in Tokyo.The exhibition included six gallery talks. A symposium featuring Japanese and American scholars, including the Japanese translator of “On the Road,” was held at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. All of these events were open to the public and were simultaneously broadcast online, and videos of the events are archived on YouTube.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	このプロジェクトは、ジャック・ケルアックとビート・ジェネレーションが与えた影響を日本の人々に体験してもらうためのものでした。この展覧会は、来場者にテクノロジーとアートの交差点、アナログとデジタルの区別について考えることを促しました。日本の研究者は、文学の構成要素としてのタイプスクリプトに注目するユニークな機会を得ることができました。研究者、学者、そして日本人に利益をもたらした。